The End of Mediscare?--GOP rallies behind Kerry--Guinta may challenge Shaheen--Newt on Leno--No Score in December

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SCORE TAKING A DECEMBER HIATUS: With campaign talk in a temporary lull and the focus now on the impending fiscal cliff, Morning Score will go on “vacation” next month. Continue to monitor POLITICO.com for the latest on the 2013 governor’s races, the 2014 battle for Congress and 2016 machinations. Thank you for your loyal readership. Happy holidays.

“KARL ROVE jokes that he is no longer suicidal after the November election - he's merely despondent. Rove was in Wichita … to speak at the 100th convention of the Kansas Livestock Association,” according to a report on KFDI, a local radio station. “Rove said the Republican party is splintered because of intolerant and judgmental language and an unwillingness to acknowledge differences.” He called Crossroads the “worst volunteer job” he’s had his entire life. Story/audio: http://goo.gl/MkSRM.

MIKE MURPHY WORRIES GOP WILL TAKE WRONG LESSON FROM 2014 GAINS: “Republicans tend to be more competitive in off-year elections, when voter turnout is far lower than in presidential years and the electorate is therefore older, whiter and more Republican,” the GOP consultant writes in Time Magazine. “It is possible for the GOP to do well in 2014, especially because so many vulnerable Democratic Senators in GOP-leaning states face re-election. But like the Republican off-year successes of 2010, a few non-presidential-year victories, while welcome, would also provide the GOP with a highly misleading dead-cat bounce. The electorate in 2016 will look much like the electorate this year, albeit even more Hispanic and more challenging for the GOP.”

WHAT’S NEXT? “The struggles of the Democratic Party in its wilderness years from 1968 to 1992 provide two possible answers,” Mike continues. “Will the GOP, like the Democrats of 1992, find a path to pivot toward electability and the actual governing power that goes with it? Or will today’s Republicans act like the Democrats of 1972, who reacted to the defeat of Establishment favorite Hubert Humphrey in 1968 by nominating George McGovern, a purist candidate from its far left?” http://goo.gl/7EQhi

TED CRUZ SAYS 47% DROVE MORE LATINOS AWAY THAN IMMIGRATION: “Republicans nationally, the story we conveyed was that 47 percent are stuck in a static world,” Texas’ senator-elect said at the conservative American Principles Project dinner last night. “We don’t have to worry about you, what that clip famously said. I cannot think of an idea more antithetic to the American principle. We embraced in that comment, and in the narrative we made to this country, the Democrat notion that there is a fixed and static pie. … The rich are the rich, the poor are the poor, and all that matters is redistributing from one to the other. The essence of the conservative message should be we want a dynamic nation where anybody with nothing can achieve anything.” http://goo.gl/uz58K

LESSONS LEARNED?—ROMNEY ADVISERS CLAIM “THE DEATH OF ‘MEDISCARE’”: “Republicans fought Democrats to a draw on the issue of Medicare,” Dan Senor and Peter Wehner write in an op-ed for today’s Wall Street Journal. “That was supposed to be impossible. Republicans were warned that if their nominee made even sympathetic noises about Medicare reform, it would be politically poisonous.” They write about counter-attacking the president, accusing him of cutting more than $700 billion from the program and Paul Ryan proactively reassuring those 55 and older. “The campaign showed Republicans that it pays to deal with attacks head-on rather than run from them…and that calm, persistent and well-reasoned arguments can overcome demagoguery,” they write. “Messrs. Romney and Ryan may have lost, but in the process they provided Republicans with an invaluable lesson and a blueprint for future elections.” http://goo.gl/ksAMS

As Tim Johnson sounds likelier to run again in South Dakota, Jay Nixon maneuvers himself for a 2016 run now that he’s been reelected in Missouri and Elizabeth Warren copes with the loss of her dog, here’s POLITICO’s Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

DAYBOOK—

OBAMA in PENNSYLVANIA: In the morning, the President will travel to Hatfield, Pennsylvania. From the White House: “The President will continue making the case for action by visiting a business that depends on middle class consumers during the holiday season, and could be impacted if taxes go up on 98 percent of Americans at the end of the year. The President will tour and deliver remarks at The Rodon Group manufacturing facility, the sole American manufacturer for K’NEX Brands, a construction toy company whose products include Tinkertoy, K’NEX Building Sets and Angry Bird Building Sets.” He leaves at 10:10, speaks at 12:05 and arrives back at the White House at 3. Josh Earnest will gaggle aboard Air Force One.

BIDEN in MEXICO: The Vice President will travel to Mexico City this afternoon. In the evening, he will attend a dinner hosted by President Felipe Calderón of Mexico at the National Palace. On Saturday at 9:30 AM CT, the Vice President will meet with President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia. At 11 CT, the Vice President will attend the inaugural speech of President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico at the National Palace. Then he’ll go to a lunch for him and get a sit-down.

LUNCH AT THE WHITE HOUSE—Readout of the President’s Lunch with Governor Romney: “President Obama and Governor Romney visited for an hour over lunch in the Private Dining Room adjacent to the Oval Office. Governor Romney congratulated the President for the success of his campaign and wished him well over the coming four years. The focus of their discussion was on America's leadership in the world and the importance of maintaining that leadership position in the future. They pledged to stay in touch, particularly if opportunities to work together on shared interests arise in the future. Their lunch menu included white turkey chili and Southwestern grilled chicken salad.” White House photo of Romney & Obama in the Oval Office: http://goo.gl/aXCtc.

POLLING—

PPP—QUINN VULNERABLE IN ILLINOIS: “If Pat Quinn is the Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois in 2014 Democrats may have a hard time holding onto the office,” writes Democratic pollster Tom Jensen. “Only 25% of voters in the state approve of the job he's doing to 64% who disapprove, making him the most unpopular Governor PPP has polled on anywhere in the country this year. Quinn would trail in hypothetical match ups against Republican State Senator Kirk Dillard (44/37) and Treasurer Dan Rutherford (43/39). He would top Congressman Aaron Schock only narrowly, 40/39.” http://goo.gl/mL6jl

PPP—NEW JERSEY DEMS WOULD PREFER BOOKER TO LAUTENBERG: “Democratic primary voters are pretty happy with Lautenberg right now too. 63% approve of the job he's doing to 18% who disapprove. Nevertheless they're ready for a fresher face in the Senate. Only 36% of them think Lautenberg should seek another term in 2014, while 45% think he should retire and 20% are not sure. If Lautenberg was to retire- or even if he doesn't- the choice of New Jersey Democrats to be their next Senator is clear: Cory Booker. By a 59/22 margin Democrats say they would prefer their candidate in 2014 be Booker than Lautenberg.” Toplines: http://goo.gl/IdBWR. Booker is going on food stamps for one week, starting next Tuesday: http://goo.gl/pXh8O.

DEAL UNLIKELY—IMMIGRATION KUMBAYA HITS REALITY IN CONGRESS: Republicans in Congress can’t agree on what to do, Seung Min Kim reports. “Some want piecemeal reform, picking off the most popular planks and leaving the tough stuff — like whether to give millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship — for later. Others side with Democrats in saying only a comprehensive deal will get at the problem. The same rifts that existed long before the election are still there…there’s scant evidence that the deal that looked so promising on Nov. 7 will materialize.” http://goo.gl/dXA5d

MASSACHUSETTS SEPCIAL--GOP RALLIES BEHIND KERRY FOR STATE: “As President Obama’s potential nominee for secretary of state, Susan E. Rice, comes under increasing fire, Congressional Republicans appear to be coalescing around a familiar name as an alternative candidate: their current colleague and former presidential foe, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts,” The New York Times’ Jennifer Steinhauer reports. “Gone are the criticisms of Mr. Kerry as a waffler who tried to have it both ways on the Iraq war and the caricature of him as a windsurfing symbol of privileged East Coast liberalism. Instead, Mr. Kerry, a Democrat, is depicted as a deeply knowledgeable statesman who would breeze through confirmation on his way to Foggy Bottom.” Talk about a story you would NOT have predicted in Nov. 2004: http://goo.gl/e26KR. The Washington Post says “Rice holds stakes in firms that have business in Iran.” http://goo.gl/DJhcZ

2013—BOLLING REFUSING TO BACK CUCCINELLI: “Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling refused to endorse former rival Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia governor's race Thursday and wouldn't rule out running against Cuccinelli as a third-party independent,” The Washington Examiner reports. "I'm a loyal soldier [for the Republican Party], but I'm going to do what I think is right for Virginia," Bolling said. "I know that will make some people uneasy or unhappy, but at the end of the day, I've got to do what I think is right, and right now I'm not comfortable making an endorsement…In my heart, I didn't think we had a chance of winning.” Bolling said he has "no current intentions" to enter the race as an independent, but he also didn't rule out such a run. http://goo.gl/qLo7v

STATE GOP CHAIR ADMONISHES HIM IN STATEMENT: “I am disappointed by Lt. Governor Bolling’s remarks over the past 48 hours,” Pat Mullins wrote last night. “Nowhere in his statements does he mention a policy disagreement with the Attorney General…The proper venue for challenging a fellow Republican is during a nomination contest. Lt. Governor Bolling chose to suspend his campaign.”

2014—

SOUTH DAKOTA—ROUNDS MAKES RUN OFFICIAL: “Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds announced his run Thursday for the U.S. Senate, pledging to take fiscally conservative South Dakota values to Washington, D.C., in a spirit of compromise rather than confrontation,” the Rapid City Journal reports. “Rounds, a 58-year-old Republican from Fort Pierre who served 10 years in the South Dakota Senate before winning two terms as governor, also pledged to run an issue-oriented campaign that wouldn't resort to demonizing his opponents… [Three-term Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson] came close to announcing his own re-election bid Thursday in response to Rounds' announcement.” http://goo.gl/m17rB

NEW HAMPSHIRE—GUINTA MIGHT CHALLENGE SHAHEEN: “Outgoing Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., will consider running statewide in 2014, perhaps challenging Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen,” Roll Call reports. “My name comes up for Senate, House and governor,” Guinta told the paper yesterday. “Obviously, it’s nice to be thought of in that way. Quite frankly, at this point, it’s something that I will focus on sometime next year.” The story adds that “two well-placed New Hampshire GOP sources noted that Guinta, the former mayor of Manchester, expressed a particular interest in the Senate race.” http://goo.gl/62tDQ

TRANSGENDER DEM WON’T TAKE STATE HOUSE SEAT: “The state's first openly transgender person elected to the legislature signed her letter of resignation Thursday, culminating a week-long controversy that stemmed from her past felonies,” per today’s Union Leader. “Being elected, ‘was the most amazing feeling in the world because it was my lifelong dream to become a state rep and to serve the citizens of my district,’ said Stacie Marie Laughton, D-Nashua, on a local TV station Thursday afternoon. Laughton, 28, was elected to represent Hillsborough County District 31 in the November elections…Still living as Barry Charles Laughton Jr. at the time, Laughton was tried on three charges related the credit card fraud in Laconia. Laughton scored a plea bargain deal with prosecutors and served 4½ months at the Belknap County Jail.” http://goo.gl/uXYow

2016—JAY NIXON COMES OUT FOR MEDICAID EXPANSION: “Gov. Jay Nixon wants to expand Medicaid eligibility to cover some 220,000 more Missourians, but he faces a large hurdle in that endeavor: the GOP-controlled state Legislature,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. “Nixon, a Democrat who won re-election on Nov. 6, has for several months avoided taking a position on the optional expansion allowed by the federal Affordable Care Act. He announced Thursday that he will include it in the budget proposal he submits to lawmakers at the start of their 2013 legislative session…But during his silence, Republican legislative leaders — who ultimately control the state’s budget — came out firmly against the plan. Much of the expansion would be covered by federal dollars, but the money has to be appropriated through the legislative process.” http://goo.gl/dyVpY

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